The present invention is directed toward heat exchange, and particularly toward a heat exchanger for cooling of power electronics.
Electronic components, and particularly power electronics are known to generate relatively large amounts of heat, which heat if not properly dissipated can damage the electronic component. However, provision of simple, inexpensive and easy to manufacture heat exchangers for such purposes are not readily available.
The present invention is directed toward overcoming one or more of the problems set forth above.
In one aspect of the present invention, a cooler for an electrical component is provided, including a pressure-tight vessel enclosing the electrical component and including a support plate above the electrical component, a bath of electrically insulating and evaporating liquid surrounding the electrical component within the vessel, a flow channel for cooling liquid on the support plate, and a heat exchange element. The heat exchange element includes a serpentine plate having generally horizontally extending and aligned flanks alternately connected along horizontally extending upper and lower edges, with the lower edges being connected by connectors spaced along the horizontally extending edges and the upper edges being connected by horizontally extending crests secured to the flow channel for heat conduction therebetween.
In one form of this aspect of the invention, a first shell is secured beneath the support plate, where the first shell defines a bottom surface of the flow channel. In a further form, a second shell may be provided between the support plate and the first shell with the second shell defining an upper surface of the flow channel.
In another form of this aspect of the invention, the heat exchange element crests are connected to the first shell in heat-conducting fashion.
In yet another form of this aspect of the invention, the flow channel defines a U-shaped path with two channel legs connected at one end, with a cooling liquid inlet connected to one of the channel legs and a cooling liquid outlet connected to the other of the channel legs.
In still another form of this aspect of the invention, the support plate is the cover of the pressure-tight vessel. In a further form, the vessel cover includes a surrounding downwardly extending flange forming part of the side walls of the pressure-tight vessel.
In another form, stiffening embossments are provided on the support plate.
In still another form, the connectors connecting the lower edges of the flanks are defined between cutouts extending minimally into the flanks. In a further form, the cutouts extend into the flanks no more than xc2xc of the height H of the flanks.
In still other forms, the connectors may extend horizontally along the flanks substantially no longer than required to provide structural integrity to the heat exchange element when secured to the flow channel, the horizontally extending crests connecting the upper edges of the flanks may extend substantially the entire length of the flanks, and/or the flanks may define surfaces sloped no more than about 20xc2x0 from vertical.
In another aspect of the present invention, an evaporative heat exchanger is provided, including a pressure-tight vessel enclosing a heat-generating component in a bath of surrounding evaporating liquid. The vessel includes a support plate above the heat-generating component, and a flow channel for cooling liquid is provided on the support plate. A heat exchange element includes a generally horizontally extending serpentine plate having crests and troughs alternately connecting flanks. The crests are secured to the flow channel for heat conduction therebetween and the troughs include spaced apart connectors between the flanks, where the space between the connectors permits evaporated cooling liquid to pass.
In one form of the present invention, the heat exchange element is formed of a plate having cutouts therein and bent into a substantially serpentine shape with the flanks between the crests and the troughs, the cutouts being in the troughs.
Other forms of the invention such as described with the first described aspect of the invention may also be used with this second aspect of the invention.